Discuss Patty Duke. Who is Patty Duke? Why should the reader care about her? What makes Patty Duke an expert on manic depressive illness? Why does Patty Duke admit to so many shameful things in this book? How does Patty Duke hope her experiences will help the reader?

Discuss manic depressive illness. What is it? How does it affect the patient? What are the bad aspects of the illness? What are the aspects that might be seen as positive? How is the illness treated?

Discuss lithium. What is lithium? How does it help the manic depressive patient? Why does a patient have to closely monitored while taking this medication? Why do some patients refuse to take lithium? How long does the patient have to take this medication? Does this medication help all manic depressive patients?